Sacramento's four-game winning streak snaps at the hands of Portland on Sunday night.
The Sacramento Kings entered 12-30 overall, but were favored by three against a team with nearly double their win total. Sacramento's winning streak persuaded the line.
But the Portland Trail Blazers erased a two-point deficit quick and didn't let up -- beating the Kings 117-110 on Sunday night at the Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento rode a new momentum wave with Domantas Sabonis making his return on Friday. He once again accepted the bench role as rookie Maxime Raynaud continued to handle starter duties in the paint.
DeMar DeRozan sparked the scoring early with a 17-foot pullup jump shot. But the 2-0 lead, again, evaporated quick -- as Portland responded with a 7-0 run.
Deni Avdija hit a 13-foot fadeaway jump shot before Shaedon Sharpe nailed his 24-foot step back jumper that made it 7-2.
Russell Westbrook broke that run up off his 11-foot jump shot. Yet Avdija responded with his 24-footer that extended the lead to 10-4. He ended up setting the tone for Portland by scoring 10 first quarter points.
Malik Monk stepped up as the lead scorer off the bench -- beginning his scoring at the 2:44 mark. Monk nailed a 25-foot three-pointer then added a 12-foot floating jump shot for his first five points of the night.
Dylan Cardwell handed the Kings back the lead by throwing down a thunderous alley-oop dunk with 58.4 left -- leaving the first quarter tied up at 32-32.
Sacramento only led once in the second; with Raynaud making his 10-foot floater to place the Kings up 45-44 at the 5:24 mark. Portland, though, outscored the Kings 20-8 for the rest of the period to close out the first half.
The Kings shot 35% from the three-point line to end the evening. Sacramento ended with a 49% shooting percentage. Portland pounded the Kings down low, though, with tacking on 62 points in the paint compared to Sacramento's 50. The home team also became careless with the basketball in committing 16 turnovers.
Monk again led the bench scoring with 23 points through 26 minutes of play. Westbrook joined him by reaching the same scoring mark, and doing that in 34 minutes. Zach LaVine added 18 points in starting duty.
DeRozan scored 14 points in 35 minutes. Cardwell dropped 12 off the bench. Sabonis earned 20 minutes -- near similar to what he received on Friday. But he settled for just eight points as a reserve.
Join the Community! Don't miss out on our KINGS ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news! It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected.